Why are the smallmouth bass in Lake Erie so darn big?

The current state record for a smallmouth bass -- 8 pounds, 4 ounces -- was set on Lake Erie. In fact, the last five state records for the fish species were set on that waterway.

"The finest smallmouth bass fishing in New York State and arguably the entire United States can be found in the waters of Lake Erie," according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Lake Erie has a special season for trophy smallmouths that spans from the first Saturday in May to the start of the regular bass fishing season opener on the third Saturday in June.

Unlike most of the state that only allows catch and release bass fishing during this time, anglers on Erie are allowed to fish for and keep one smallie 20 inches or larger during this special season.

What gives? Why are the smallmouth bass on Lake Erie so darn big?

Researchers and charter boat captains point to several factors, including the fact that Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, has a strong forage base and boasts extensive stretches of rocky structure and drop-offs along the lake's eastern shoreline a all conditions that have resulted in a great smallmouth fishery.

In recent years, there has been another huge factor a the invasion and establishment in the lake of round gobies, an invasive species that was brought over to the lake in the ballasts of ocean ships from Europe to the Great Lakes system.

A 2014 study by the DEC and SUNY ESF published in the journal of Freshwater Biology looked at 20 years of data gathered by the DEC on the weights and lengths of four fish species in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario before and after the goby invasion. Smallmouth bass showed the largest post invasion weight gain, followed by yellow perch.

In fact, in Lake Erie, the study concluded that round gobies now make up some 75 percent of the diet of smallmouth bass. It makes sense. Smallmouth bass like to hang around rocky bottoms, feeding on forage like crayfish a habitat that round gobies prefer as well.

According to an article on the study in Fishsens Magazine, the younger smallies seem to have benefitted the most. Fish in the 6-inch range were on average about 17 percent heavier than before the gobie invasion. For some unexplained reason, though, those in the 19-inch range remained about the same. Those 20 inches or larger, the study noted, are now about 12 percent heavier than those "pre-invasion fish."

But are fatter smallmouth and lots of gobies in a waterway a good thing? The study also concluded that such fish tend to grow faster and die younger, noted Fishens Magazine. That reduces the number of times they can reproduce. In addition, gobies raid smallmouth bass nests and eat their eggs. "However, fitter smallmouth may also mature earlier and have greater success in their shorter lives."

The big picture is still unclear. The bottom line is that although both Great Lakes have big smallmouth bass, Lake Erie anglers are having greater success catching them. One the factors may be the make-up of Lake Ontario, which is deeper and colder.

According the DEC, the best smallmouth bass fishing in Erie during the year is in the spring, near the lake's nearshore reefs, harbors and tributary streams. They then move to harbor and canal areas in May, and to open lake reefs and shoals in late May-June.

"Yes, there are lots of lakes across the state and every now and then someone catches a big smallie out of them," said Capt Terry Jones, of 1st Class Bass Charters in Buffalo, a former tournament bass angler who's been guiding on Erie for 20 years.

"However, nowhere compares to the size and numbers we see on Erie," he said.

The DEC has banned the use of live gobies for bait. The rationale is that if anglers were allowed to use them, they inevitably would take them to other waterways and increase their presence in state waterways.

Jones said his clients cash in on the smallies by using tube jigs.

"You fish them close to the bottom a and yes, you'll catch gobies, too. We've caught hundreds of them," he said.

Capt. Jim Hanley, of Jim Hanley's Fishing Charters, said he's been guiding for 38 years on Lake Erie and the size of the lake's bass never cease to amaze him.

"Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut," he joked.

SEND US YOUR FISH PHOTOS

Catch a big fish on Lake Erie? We'd like to see it. Send your photos to David Figura, outdoors writer, at dfigura@syracuse.com.

Include your full name, where you live, when and where the fish was caught -- and on what.